Typewriting machine



May 24, 193%. W. F. HELMOND 2mm TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed June 10, 1953 TTORNEY.

Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mawnrrmo MACHINE Application June 10, 193:, Serial No. 675,254 Renewed January 19, 1937 8 Claim.

This invention relates to sound and shock absorbing feet for typewriting machines and the like, and to hold-down means for the machine.

Feet made of rubber compound as heretofore, do not prevent the transmission of sound to the underlying table to the greater degree which is attainable by the use of more inert material such as felt. Feet made wholly of felt, the felt being relatively soft and yielding, have the drawback 10 of not standing up well under the strain and wear.

The present invention provides an improved foot in which felt and rubber portions are combined, by means of a novel organization, to the end that the felt portion is effective to prevent the transmission of sound, and the solid rubber portion gives mechanical strength to the foot and at the same time conduces to the absorption of shock and noise. The novel organization is moreover practical in that it affords a foot which may be readily substituted for prior feet in machines already in use.

The felt portion may surmount the rubber portion, so that it is interposed between the rubber portion and the machine. The rubber portion forms the base of the foot. The two portions may be arranged so that when they are conjoined, they interlock in such manner that the felt portion is held against lateral displacement relative to the base-portion, and so that the tendency ofthe felt to spread under the load of the machine is resisted. The felt portion may also be topped by a cap formed to fit around the periphery of the felt portion, and thereby co-operating to resist spreading of the latter under the machine load. Said cap may be part of the attachable foot.

A headed screw may pass through the composite foot for attachment of the latter to the machine, the shoulder formed by the screw-head co-operating with a seat counterbored from the bottom of the rubber portion to retain the foot. -The screw may also be shouldered against the aforesaid cap which surmounts the felt por- 4 tion, the shoulder at the head being preferably, for minimizing noise transmission, spaced from said seat in the rubber portion when the screw is driven tight against said cap.

The feet as presented by the machine may rest in sockets forming part of the support on which the machine rests, the sockets retaining the machine against lateral displacement.

A novel hold-down device co-operates with the sockets to retain the machine on its support as when the latter is tilted to bring the machine to ing edge fulcrumed in a notch of a fulcrum-plate I which faces another plate bearing against another transverse edge of said catch spaced from and parallel to the pivot-edge. The two plates, secured to the machine-support, clasp said catch at said edges with resilient pressure and act to yieldably detent the catch in its effective and ineffective positions, determined by abutment of the catch-portion between said edges with opposite sides of the fulcrum-notch. Certain novel features of organization relate to the application of the described hold-down catch, in association with the front feet of the'machine, and which features conduce to simplicity, reliability of the catch, and to minimizing the cost.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation indicating a typewriter resting on its supporting table and showing the novel feet and hold-down device in crosssection.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing how the holddown device co-operates to, retain the typewriter on its support when the latter, which is shown as part of a typewriter-desk, is tilted.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the support on which the typewriter rests, showing the arrangementof the foot-sockets and hold-down means.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the novel foot and associated hold-down means as fastened to the typewriter-table quarter-sectioned.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the parts which constitute the novel foot and the holddown means spread out to illustrate said parts in detail.

A typewriter l0, resting on a table II, is illustrated in connection with the novel feet and holddown means. Each foot includes a rubber portion I! which forms the base of the foot and a felt portion l3. The rubber portion is reduced in diameter to form a neck l4 and an upwardlyfacing shoulder IS. The felt portion or collar I3 fits the neck It and is seated upon the shoulder IS, the latter being made concave, by being beveled downwardly from its outer edge, as shown. By the concavity of the shoulder IS, the tendency of the felt collar to spread under the load of the typewriter is resisted. The felt collar I3 overtops the neck I 4 of the rubberv portion I! which is thereby, for the purpose of minimizing the transmission of noise, spaced from the machine. The felt collar I3 is surmounted by a cap 16 which embraces the periphery of the collar, and thereby cooperates to resist the spreading of the latter. Y

The top of the cap it bears againstv the machine-surface to which the foot is attached by means of a headed screw i6. Cooperating with a shoulder I9 of said screw is a seat 2|, which, as indicated in Figure l, is counterbored from the bottom of the rubber portion l2, The screw i8 also has a shoulder 22 which bears against the bottom of the cap i6 when the footis attached to the machine, it being noted that the shoulder l9 at the screw-head is preferably spaced from the seat 2! for minimizing the transmission of machine noises to the table H. The bottom of the rubber portion I2 may be concave as shown at 23, Figure 1. The screw l8 has a thread 24 received in the typewriter 16.

For retaining the typewriter against lateral displacement, the table is provided with cups or sockets 25, in which the feet of the typewriter are set, the sockets being secured to the table by bolts 26.

The novel hold-down device is associated with the front feet of the typewriter, and, accordingly, for each. front foot, there is a fixed hasp or plate 29 having an eye 30 and formed as indicated in Figure 5 to be secured by means of the screw l6 which passes through a hole 3! of said plate. A dowel 32 keeps the plate from turning, and thereby keeps its eye 30 in operative alignment with a hook-forming tongue 33 01' a catch 34 formed as indicated in the drawing. Said catch 34 is swingable between effective and ineffective positions indicated respectively by the full outline and dotted outline in Figure 1. For fulcruming the catch and detenting it in either position, there underlie the cup for the front foot a pair of superposed plates 35 and 36, both plates extending forwardly from the cup 25 and being secured, together with said cup, to the table II by the bolt 26, each plate having a hole 31 through which the bolt passes. The plates 35, 36 are prevented from turning by a dowelscrew 39 passing through holes 40 in the plates, and whose head is cleared by a hole 4| in the cup'25.

The upper plate 35 is formed to present an inverted V-shaped notch 42 facing the lower'plate 36, the forward end of said upper plate 35 passing through a slot 43 of the catch 34, which slot, as indicated in Figure 4, forms a pivoting edge 44 fulcrumed in said- V-shaped notch 42. Paralleling said pivoting edge 44 is a bottom edge 45 of the catch 34, said bottom edge bearing upon the top of the lower plate 36. The plate 35 may be made of spring metal, so that the plates 35, 36 are resiliently pressed together when fastened down on the table II. The portion of the catch forming the pivoting edge 44 and edge 45 is thus clasped by resilient pressure between said plates 35, 36. It will be obvious that the resilient pressure exerted by said plate 35 yieldably holds the catch 34 to either one of its positions which are determined by abutment of the portion included between said edges with opposite sides of the V-shaped notch 42. As the catch 34 is swung to either one of its positions there is momentarily a slight separation of the anaoes catch 34 in retaining the typewriter, as, for example, when the latter, housed in a typewriterdesk 43, is swung with its table it to the retired position, Figure 2, the forward end oi the lower plate t6 may be bent around the forward end i of the upper plate 35 to form a stop for said upper plate. This stop 46 prevents undue deflection of the upper plate 35 as it co-operates with the catch 34 to prevent dislodgment oi the typewriter from the table. The typewriter-desk 42 includes the conventionally indicated linkage 54 associated with the dropping and raising of the table H. erably made uniform in dimensions, and, to compensate for the absence of the hold-down parts at the rear feet, the cups 25 for said rear feet may rest uponshims 41.

For handling the composite foot as a unit which includes either the cap l6, or both said cap and the hasp-plate 23, the parts are held together by the screw H. For this purpose, the cap 16 alone, as for the rear feet, is threaded over the screw-thread 24, or both the'cap and the hasp-plate' 23, as for the front feet, are threaded over said screw-thread.

For facilitating the operation of attaching the composite foot to the machine, the screw-thread is undercut to a diameter less than the root diameter of the screw, as at 49, to form a shoutder 53 which is co-operative with the shoulder 22 of the screw to retain the cap l6 and haspplate 29, after the latter two parts have been threaded pastsaid shoulder 50. Said undercut or groove permits the screw to be turned without turning said parts i6, 23. At the screwreceiving opening 3| in the hasp-plate 23 and a similar opening 5| in the cap l6, the parts may individually be thin enough at said openings to thread over the screw-thread 24 without being provided with a screw-thread themselves. It will be seen that either the front foot including the hasp 23, or the rear foot without said hasp, may, by the described arrangement, be handled as a unit.

The eye of the hasp plate 29 is formed in a tongue 53 of said plate, which slopes outwardly and downwardly from the top of the foot to extend parallel with the catch 34 when the latter is in its effective position. For avoiding the transmission of sound to the table II, the arrangement may be such that, as indicated in Figure 1, the catch 34 when in effective position does not contact the hasp-plate 23.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A shock and noise absorbing foot attachable to a typewritingmachine or the like, including a base-portion of rubber having an upwardlyextending, reduced neck to form an upwardly- The foot-parts l2, l3 and i6 are pref- Cir facing circumferential shoulder, and a collar of relatively inert sound-absorbing material surrounding said neck, said collar seated on said shoulder and overtopping the neck, so that "it is interposed between said rubber portion and the machine-surface to which the foot isattached, whereby said base-portion, resting on a machine-support, sustains said machine through the medium of said sound-absorbing collar to thereby minimize the machine noises.

2. A shock and noise absorbing foot attachable to a typewriting machine or the like, including a base-portion of rubber having an upwardlyextending, reduced neck to form an upwardlyfacing circumferential shoulder, and a collar of relatively inert sound-absorbing material surrounding said neck, said collar seated on said shoulder and overtopping the neck, so that it is interposed between said rubber portion and the machine-surface to which the foot is attached, whereby said base-portion, resting on a machine-support, sustains said machine through the medium of said sound-absorbing collar to thereby minimize the machine noises, said shoulder being concave to enable the base-portion to resist spreading of the relatively soft collar under the machine load.

3. A shock and noise absorbing foot attachable to a typewriting machine or the like, including a base-portion of rubber having an upwardly-extending, reduced neck to form an upwardly-facing circumferential shoulder, and a collar of relatively inert sound-absorbing material surrounding said neck, said collar seated on said shoulder and overtopping the neck, so that it. is interposed between said rubber portion and the machine-surface to which the foot is at-- tached, whereby said base-portion, resting on a machine-support, sustains saidmachine through the medium of said sound-absorbing collar to thereby minimize the machine noises, said foot, including the rubber portion, having a hole, whereby the foot is retained laterally, by means of a stud on the machine.

4. A shock and noise absorbing foot attachable to a typewriting machine or the like, including a base-portion of rubber having an upwardlyextending, reduced neck to form an upwardlyfacing circumferential shoulder, and a collar of inert sound-absorbing material surrounding said neck, said collar seated on said shoulder and overtopping the neck, so that it is interposed between said rubber portion and the machine-surface to which the foot is attached, said collar having a cap fitting the periphery of the collar, to thereby resist spreading of the latter under the machine load.

5. In a machine of the character described a shock and noise absorbing foot which includes a base-portion of resilient material restable on a machine-support, said base-portion having an upwardly-extending, reduced neck to form an open upwardly-facing circumferential shoulder, a collar of relatively inert sound-absorbing material surrounding said neck, said collar seated on said shoulder and overtopping the neck so that it is interposed between said rubber portion and the machine-surface to which the foot is attached, and a stud projecting downwardly from said machine-surface and into the rubber portion for retaining the foot laterally of the machine.

6. In a machine of the character described a shock and noise absorbing foot which includes a resilient base-portion restable on a machine-support, said base-portion formed of rubber and having an upwardly-extending, reduced neckto form an open upwardly-facing circumferential shoulder, a collar of relatively inert sound-absorbing material surrounding said neck, said collar seated on said shoulder and over-topping the neck so that it is interposed between said rubber portion and the machine-surface to which the foot is attached, and a stud projecting downwardly from said machine-surface and into the rubber portion for retaining the foot laterally of the machine, said collar having a cap fitting the periphery of the collar to thereby resist spreading of the latter under the machine load.

7. In a machine of the character described; a

' shock and noise absorbing foot which includes a base, of solid rubber, restable on a machinesupport, a block oi relatively inert sound-absorbing material seated on said rubber base to coact with said base to support the weight of the machine, and a stud penetratingsaid rubber base and said block and attached to the machine for retaining the foot laterally of the machine, whereby said block spaces and thereby insulates said rubber base from the machine to substantially prevent the transmission of sound to said machine-support.

8. For a typewriting machine, an attachable composite double foot having a main solid rubbar portion which gives mechanical strength to the double foot and conduces to the absorption of shock and noise, and a felt portion sufficiently massive to substantially prevent the transmission of sound, said rubber portion being surmounted by said felt portion, the latter being interposed between the rubber portion andthe machine, said rubber portion forming the base of the foot, said rubber and felt portions formed to interlock for holding the felt portion against lateral displacement relatively to the rubber base portion; said felt portion being capped by a thimble fitting tightly thereto and operating to resist spreading of the felt under the machineload, the cap being a part of the attachable foot, and a headed screw passed up through the composite foot and attaching the latter to the machine and also serving to locate the foot upon the machine. v

' WILLIAM F. HEIMOND. 

